Welcome to our September, 2017 Tried & True feature. Through this constantly growing and revamped monthly product collection we are excited as ever to showcase a unique collection of innovative, classic, and top-quality skate gear select across the industry—gear that we’ve tried ourselves and found to be true to quality skateboarding fun. Sit back, relax, and check out a few of our favorite skate goods this month:

Gravity Brad Edwards 40″

The Skull Beach by Gravity Skateboards is one of the raddest “longboard” double kicks we’ve seen on the market, and is the handcrafted product of Brad himself. Sessions and sessions of input, prototyping and redesigning is what perfects the BE, and makes it stand out from near any other big double kick we’ve had the honor of riding. Brad built this board with everyone in mind; its stiff enough and has a generous platform to hit hills at speed, has ample pop (even for its larger size) for freestyle and street action, a comfy feel for slides, and everything in between.

At 40″ long, 9″ wide, and a 22″ wheelbase, this board has a plentiful standing platform and is ready for deep end rock-and-rolls, cross-step -walk-to-the-nose grinds, one-footed 540’s and all of the other style moves Brad designed it for. The BE is crafted from a stiffer maple construction by Watson Laminates down in San Diego, and truly built to last.

As Brad put it himself, “This deck is more an evolution than it is a longboard skateboard. It’s the board I’ve wanted my whole life but never had the capabilities or freedom to manufacture. Thanks to Gravity’s patience and liberal R&D, It’s finally here and better than I could explain in words. You just have to ride one to understand. Parks, hills, ditches, pools, banks, or cones it’s truly an evolution.” -Brad Edwards

Our good friend and fellow shredder Brad Edwards recently moved on from life to skating the golden curbs up above, but this board continues to live behind as a part of his ongoing legacy. Look up any video of Brad skating, and you’ll see what this 40″ unique shape is capable of when in the hands of style. We’ll miss you BE.

Earthwing Hope Deck

We have been rocking boards by Earthwing since Wheelbase first started up, and have enjoyed a wide lineup of boards that can skate everything in their path. One of the latest boards to the Earthwing line is the Hope deck. This deck is a mid-range double kick that comes in at a 34″ and 36″ option, with a 15.5″ or 16.5″ wheelbase, ideal for skating everything. The 7ply maple hardwood construction, and 7″ nose and tail lend it to have a solid feel and nice crisp pop, but what really makes a difference on this board is the larger than normal flat space between bolts and kicks. This fully ensures that such a bigger deck with bigger wheels can pop clean and crisp. In our riding, this has especially proven true in creating a more lively and responsive board, with ultimately greater control.

The second part of the deck that stands out is the graphic and individual story behind it. Earthwing is a smaller roots skater run operation, and yet continues to do whatever it takes to push the highest quality boards to the downhill and skate community. The story behind the graphic has to do personally with Earthwing founder and owner Brian; the graphic is a drawing by two eight year old boys, Elijah and Malakai Petrie. A positive graphic in creepy times, as Brian informed us, “One of my twin son’s has a mass in his brain, and we are not sure if it’s growing, chilling, or what, so we split NYC pretty quick. It was, and is scary shit. It looks like he is in the clear for a while.”

That said, the hope by earthwing doesn’t just have a unique backstory to it, but is a top quality skateboard and has been hand perfected by Brian and crew to meet the need of a modern cross-terrain skater. Earthwing has been making boards for years, and knows their shit.

Paradox Art Grip

Paradox Griptape is crafted with an attention to detail, highest quality construction, and built to last. You can already see why we like it and are stoked to include it in our monthly collection!

Paradox is a skater-ran operation, and each team rider and artist through the company has a stake in what goes on. The grip itself is formulated with a unique silicon carbide crystals with a supple sealing and adhesion method that makes it outlast many of the larger grip brands on the market. Paradox also makes their grip stand out through their unique artist series; each sheet of grip has a high-pressure spray gun process that can recreate art at a more price, longer lasting, and cleaner appearing design. We are stoked on not only the one-of-a-kind art pieces paradox has showcased, but the full process that makes it so dialed.

Check out more from Paradox, and get your hands on some of the best grip here!

Cuei “Killers” Downhill Wheels

Recently we have been seeing and hearing great things about Cuei wheels, and after seeing them take the win of the World Championship knew we had to put them to the test ourselves. The 80a Power Thane formula behind the Killers fully performs up to high speed races, and uses its 74mm diameter and 65.5mm contact patch to push the grip to speed ratio to the limit.The offset core, sharp-lipped profile, and supportive lips all contribute to the performance of Cuei wheels as well. These wheels are incredibly long lasting, and once they are broken in from their fresh phase maintain a predictable and smooth drift.

Cuei is a newer wheel brand on the market, but has a wide array of knowledge, know-how, and quality input between the full lineup of team members. With top riders like Max Ballesteros fully backing Cuei, we aren’t surprised. These wheels have been tested and proved to be one of the fastest wheels in the market after dominating the IDF South American tour with team rider Pepe Laporte crowned the champion and Thiago Gomes Lessa winning 2 out of the 3 races on them.

The podiums don’t lie… Cuei wheels perform and roll fast, giving an advantage to any racer or downhill rider through any terrain.

Riptide / PSD Footstops

No more rattling bushings to smack your toe against, Riptide makes a specifically designed footstop so you can save your bushings for your trucks…

The PSD footstops come in several varieties for maximum flexibility, providing convicted, outward facing surfaces, or inward concaved surfaces, for rider preference and stance positioning. These footstops are all built to fit the concave of a board, and are poured with a 60D high-durability urethane. They are light weight at under 2 ounces, and are a collaboration designed by PSD in the U.K. and Manufactured by Riptide in the USA. The unique grooved surface of these stops provide for optimal grip and board adhesion, yet let your foot maintain its range of motion through turns, and technical maneuvers.

Out of the many styles of PSD footstops, we recommend the following for different styles of foot placement. If through riding your foot tends to stay centered, and scarcely moves position, a concave shape is ideal to hold it in place; pick either a In-Side, In & Out, or I&O Mini. If your foot noticeably shifts position throughout riding, go for the convex styled footstop; such as the Aer-Out, Out-Side, In & Out, or I&O mini. This convex platform allows the foot to more easily rotate around the axis of the bolt hole, and maintain board fell while shifting stances. For riders who are unsure of their foot movement or in between, Choose the In & Out footstop, which hosts a combination of the convex and concave options.

The PSD footstops are intuitively designed and one of the cleanest builds we’ve seen around. They will outlast board after board, and provide the best grip and board feel with options for personalizing the setup. These also come in a wide array of bad ass clear and solid colors, and give e a sleek touch to any downhill setup.

Riptide has been producing some of the highest quality urethane bushings, pivots, and now footstops for years and years, and have the experience and prototyping down to a “T”, dialing in each and every one of their products for our precision. Check out more on Riptide here!

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Thanks for tuning in to our September, 2017 edition of Tried & True! Be sure to check back next month for another collection and fresh skate related products! Stay shreddy wheelbase fam!